Observation: At my high school, the students in the CP biology classes had a review before taking the exam. I led the review which was in jeopardy form and facilitated the students through the review giving examples and trying to enhance the students understanding of the material. The classes are 90 minutes so the jeopardy review took approximately half that time and the exam was taken in the other half. The class was divided into groups and had to write their answers down on small dry erase boards where after a given amount of time, had to raise them up and I deemed their answers right or wrong. Reflection:
Description
Remembering:
What did I want, do, feel, and think?
What did the student(s) want, do, feel, and think?
I wanted the students to have a good review of the chapter material before they took the unit test. I used a Jeopardy styled review with the class where they worked in teams to come up with the answers. I want this to be an effective review for the students using cooperative groups to enhance their understanding of the material. I wanted to feel like the students were making connections with what they had already learned and I wanted them to show me that they understood the material. Since this review was right before the exam, the students should have already studied the material and come prepared.
The students were competing and having a good time during the review it seemed. The winning team would be awarded 2 bonus points on their exam which was enough incentive for them to have the competitive drive. After the review, the students should feel prepared for the exam and comfortable with the material.
Understanding:
What was important about it?
For me? For the student(s)? For both of us?
This was important because the material covered is directly related to the material on the exam. It provided with students with a review, even if they had not prepared for the exam. This review was important for me because it allowed me to see if the students understood the material before they took the exam. This was my first time really leading a class so it was good for me to build a good rapport with the students. If I saw there was a question that some of the groups did not get right, we would take some time as a class to discuss it and fix misconceptions.
Applying:
Where can I use this again?
This is a good idea for a review before any major text or exam. This can be used as an interactive review before a test or moving on to more difficult topics. The students had fun and will keep the competition up as long as there is incentive for them. They knew they had a test following the review so that was incentive for them to pay attention as well as a 2 point bonus on the test for the winning team.
Analyzing:
Do I see any patterns in what I did?
They way I explained the answers was similar in each way. I use my arms and hands a lot when I describe things and I know I was doing that a lot. I was trying to manage the class, however it was difficult in this situation because there was about 28 students in the class and they were allowed to be talking amongst their groups. Sometimes it got loud and it was hard for me to tell if the students were on task or chatting about other things.
Evaluating:
What was effective and what was not effective?
Overall, I thought this was a very effective review. The questions were effective and having the groups wright their answers on white boards was good so that all groups gave their answers without cheating. The only thing that was maybe not so effective was allowing the groups to pick the questions. Most of the time, they chose the 5 point questions and worked their way up to the 1 point questions. I think it would have been more effective to start with the easy and gradually become harder.
Creating:
What could I do next?
For the next test, maybe I could try a different type of review which was more individual. Since this was a grouping review, some students slacked and did not participate much. If the next review was individual, they would have to or receive no credit.
Observation: At my high school, the students in the CP biology classes had a review before taking the exam. I led the review which was in jeopardy form and facilitated the students through the review giving examples and trying to enhance the students understanding of the material. The classes are 90 minutes so the jeopardy review took approximately half that time and the exam was taken in the other half. The class was divided into groups and had to write their answers down on small dry erase boards where after a given amount of time, had to raise them up and I deemed their answers right or wrong.
Reflection:
What did I want, do, feel, and think?
What did the student(s) want, do, feel, and think?
The students were competing and having a good time during the review it seemed. The winning team would be awarded 2 bonus points on their exam which was enough incentive for them to have the competitive drive. After the review, the students should feel prepared for the exam and comfortable with the material.
What was important about it?
For me? For the student(s)? For both of us?
Where can I use this again?
Do I see any patterns in what I did?
What was effective and what was not effective?
What could I do next?